Sendō Takeshi
Takeshi Sendō (千堂武士, Sendō Takeshi) is a recurring character in Hajime no Ippo. He is a featherweight boxer from the Naniwa Kentou Boxing Gym and a former JBC featherweight champion. He played the main antagonist during the events of championship road, serving as the second Japanese champion Ippo faced for the title. His surname is Sendō. In Japan, surnames are listed before given names. Background Sendō's father was a fireman who died while saving the life of a child. As Sendō looked up to his father greatly, this loss inspired him to try to be as strong as his father. The Naniwa Tiger Gaiden Since he was young, Sendō was known to be rude and problematic, having lead his own delinquent gang in the streets. However, it is mentioned by his grandma that Sendō did so to protect innocent civilians from other delinquent gangs. He and his grandmother run a market place. By the age of 18, he turned to a professional boxer. Part I Sendō watches a tape of Makunouchi Ippo's KO victory against Mashiba Ryō and, fired up by the tape, decides to go visit Tokyo for a match against Ippo. He leaves half-disappointed however when he learns of Ippo's broken fist, but declares hopefully to Ippo that he would be'' "waiting for him in Osaka'"'' when the time comes for their match, accidentally leaving a bag of souvenirs at the station upon his leave. Disheartened, Sendō does not put much effort into his training until a package arrives in the mail containing the forgotten souvenirs, along with a letter from Ippo stating that they may be able to have their match after all. Renewed by the prospective match Sendō quickly jumps back into intense training, waiting for the day of his match against Ippo. Despite all his training for the match, Sendou ultimately loses consciousness in his own corner before the start of the fourth round. However, both fighters agree that unless one collapses in the ring, the fight remains unfinished. The two fighters then anxiously wait for the day of their rematch. Sendō is seen again after Date Eiji's relinquishing of the JBC Featherweight belt. He wins a very close, and controversial, victory by decision against Alexander Volg Zangief to acquire the vacant title. His first title defense is against Saeki Takuma, whom he KO's with little difficulty. Afterwards, he is pitted against Shigeta Akira, whose provocations of his and Ippo's style of boxing led Sendou to beat Akira so ferociously that he contracted a fear of being punched (and presumably retired) thereafter. Sendō and Ippo then have their promised rematch for the belt, and he once again loses, this time by way of knockout, to Ippo. Sendō is also present in Takamura Mamoru's world title match against Bryan Hawk, along with many other friends and boxing acquaintances where he is seen conversing happily with Miyata, who attempts to ignore him. Part II After Ippo's against Sawamura Ryūhei, he has his comeback match, a 1st round KO. Sendō's opponents after his second bout with Ippo have predominantly been Mexican in order to train to defeat Ricardo Martinez and claim the WBA featherweight title. He defeated four Mexicans in a row and came to be ranked 4th in the WBA. He, along with Ippo, Randy Boy Jr. and Alfredo Gonzales are the only individual featherweights to specifically aim for Ricardo. Sendō joined Ippo in watching Volg's challenge for the IBF world championship. Despite all his preparation, he is astounded at the level of skill displayed in the world-level match. Afterward, he and Ippo sparred in the Kamogawa Gym basement, which leads to Sendō leaving Ippo unconscious in the ring, being held up by the ropes. Takamura asks Sendou to confirm that Ippo has become weaker, and Sendō says that Ippo isn't weaker, he has just become that much stronger, and that Takamura will see it in his next match against a world ranker before a title match. He can't sleep and the next day he immediately watches the match which led to Ippo losing. He made a personal list about all the thoughest pro boxers Sendō had and has to challenge. It is known that he has on watch all the nearby featherweight world class boxers which some of them are Mexicans. Battle of the Beasts Arc Takeshi has a semi-final match before Takamura's world title unification bout against Richard Bison. Because he brawled with Mashiba in the waiting room before the fight, he enters the ring with bruises on his face. He is up against a Mexican World ranker once again, Jose Nargo who is ranked 5th in the WBA, and is already called a champ. Jose Nargo dominated Sendō for most of the match because of his experience with sparring Ricardo Martinez. After the 8th round, when Sendō saw Ricardo's Manager, Bill Stewart as his second, he then pushes Jose to the corner and using his knuckles started to press into Jose's stomach aggressively, causing extreme pain and giving Sendō the opportunity to knock Jose out. Sendō defends his ranking of being 4th in the WBA, and might proceed to a title match. After defeating Jose Nargo, he then speaks to Bill Stewart, telling him to give a warning to Alfredo Gonzales, which shocks Bill as he expected the warning to be given to Ricardo. He then goes back to the room, to watch the match of Takamura with Mashiba. To this point they seem to be okay with each other and not fighting as they discuss how tough Richard Bison is, but they will continue after this match as they say with each other silently. Unseen Heights Arc At that same moment he decides to aim even higher. Takeshi put a meeting with his former teacher, that she was always there by his side to tell her something very important. He tells her to watch over his grandmother as she is very old, and as she raised him, he wants to repay her back but more importantly, he will leave Japan and go to Mexico, his road to face the strongest has started, by first try and challenge Alfredo. Match History Successions Appearance Sendō is a man of rugged appearance, reflecting his brash personality and career as a boxer. He sports an extremely muscular build, a tanned complexion, and is of average height. His hair is dark brown, long, and unkempt, styled in a swept-forward manner with countless tufts jutting out in all possible directions. Sendō also has thin eyebrows and large eyes with black pupils. He has a large penis, noted by Takamura. Personality A brash, actions-before-thoughts boxer, Sendō is shown to be incredibly energetic and competitive when it comes down to boxing. As an average lower-class Osaka resident he speaks in the Kansai dialect and, despite being rude and temperamental, Sendō possesses an extremely kind heart. His personality also incorporates a certain stinginess, having sent Ippo an invitation to one of his own fights while expecting Ippo to pay him for the expense of the ticket. In a conversation with Ippo, it is revealed that Sendō respects and looks up to real-life boxer Rocky Marciano. He specifically points out that the 'Rocky' in his nickname does not come from the popular Rocky film series, but from Marciano. Fighting Style and Techniques Sendō is an instinctive infighter who is heavy handed with his blows. He possesses incredible lower and upper body strength, comparable to Ippo, although his optimum punching distance is actually at a medium range. He is almost feral in his fighting approach, relying on sheer instincts, rather than technique to avoid injury in his matches. Tactically, he is large with his punches and uses wide swings to instil a sense of fear into his opponent, which he takes advantage of to set his rhythm. Sendō can also throw compact punches with no lead-in making them hard for an opponent to predict. He has showcased a powerful dash built up through hours of running with ankle weights. Sendō's prideful nature means that he will very rarely step back or retreat during a match, which has proved to be a crude but effective natural seal to techniques such as the Dempsey Roll which rely on unbroken rhythms and starting distance. Techniques *Smash *Crouching Style *Brawling Style *Low Smash *Deadly Smash *Counter *Body Blow *Cross Arm Block *Fist Clench *Knuckle Drop *Head slip *Sakki Weaknesses His prideful boxing style is also his main weakness. His guard is essentially non-existent, and his main offensive technique, the Smash, requires a large swinging motion, leaving him completely open for counters. (Though, rather than improve the technique's defence, Sendō instead chose to increase the power with a lower and more vertical punch.) His instincts can also be used against him, as they often lead him to make rash decisions too quickly to judge the danger behind them. Sendō has also pointed out that his style is very weak against counters. Gallery Manga Scenes= Sendo kick.png|Sendō meeting Sawamura Sawamura and Sendo in Hospital.png|Sendo talking to Sawamura Sendo vs Ramirez Fight Poster .png Sendo vs Ramirez Fight Poster - English.png|Sendo vs Ramirez Fight Poster - English Sendo talking to Miyata.png Ippo, Sendo, and Sendo's teacher.png Sendo talking about Martinez.png|Sendo talking about Martinez Sendo kids.png |-| vs Makunouchi Ippo II= |-| Manga Scenes (Low Quality)= Sendo…11.jpeg|Sendou in the manga. Hajime-no-ippo_sendo.jpg|Sendō after defeating Shigeta Akira. SendoDestroysRamirez.jpg|Sendō performing his signature Smash. |-| Anime Scenes= SendouTakeshi.png takeshi sendo.png|Sendō Profile 1 Sendou_Takeshi_Rising_Profile.png|Sendou Profile 2 SendouTakeshiBackround.png|Sendō Profile 5 YoungSendou.png|Younger Sendou looking down to his deceased father at the hospital. Sendo…1.jpeg|Thumbs down! Sendo .1.1.jpeg|Sendō's cross-arm guard. |-| Video Games= Sendou_Takeshi_PS3_View_1.png|Sendō Profile 3 Sendou_Takeshi_PS3_View_2.png|Sendō Profile 4 Trivia * Sendō has been seen doing roadwork only twice throughout the entire series, which was during his introduction before the All Japan Rookie King tournament and preceding his rematch with Ippo (though he was coming home from roadwork that time). Despite never being seen seriously training, reportedly having to go through weight control, and most of his bouts being one or two rounds long, he hasn't been shown to have problems with stamina in his longest matches. * The game console he promised to buy the neighbourhood kids in the manga appears to be an SNES, whereas in the anime, the console appears to be a SONY PS2. * Even though his nickname, Rocky, may suggest otherwise, Sendō is similar to Donovan "Razor" Ruddock. Ruddock is known for giving Mike Tyson two tough fights and for creating the Smash. Coincidentally, Ippo is similar to Mike Tyson, and both Ippo's first match with Sendō and Ruddock's first match with Tyson were prematurely stopped, giving Ippo the TKO win in the 4th round and Tyson the TKO win in the 7th round. However, both Sendō and Ruddock finished the match still standing. * In the manga, Sendō gives his coach the middle finger when he first joined the gym. In the anime, it is changed to a thumbs down. * Sendō, as a character, seems to be inspired by Joe Yabuki, main character of a classic boxing manga- Ashita No Joe. Sendou's friends with 5 kids from his neighbourhood, just like Joe. And even one of kids from Sendou's neighborhood, a girl in a white shirt and a red skirt, looks almost identical as Sachi from Ashita No Joe. Even the match between Sendo vs Ippo I, sort of ends similar to Ashita No Joe, with Sendo sitting in the corner. * According to the Japanese Wiki, Sendo appears to be modeled after Pro Boxer later turned actor, Hidekazu Akai, who was also known as "Naniwa no Rocky" * Even though he is nicknamed "The Naniwa Rocky", on his boxing trunks it is shown as "Rockey". Category:Active boxers Category:Male characters Category:Characters from Japan Category:Characters from Osaka Category:Naniwa Kentou-kai Category:Featherweights Category:In Fighters Category:Western Japan Rookie King Category:Japanese Featherweight Champion Category:Boxers Category:Orthodox Boxers Category:Characters Category:Boxer formerly retired Category:JBC Champions Category:World Rankers